Story+1988-05-18+New+York+City,+NY

“Ready for a big ride? (crowd cheers)…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Tunnel of Love”**

“Is spring finally getting here yet or what? (crowd cheers) what’s with all this rain and shit today in New York? (crowd cheers) I don’t have my car up here, you see, I’m not a city boy (crowd cheers) I’m from the suburbs (crowd cheers) where everybody’s got wheels! (crowd cheers) couldn’t get a cab…had to walk twenty blocks in the rain…shit!...it’s kind of nice, though…you know… everybody had their umbrellas…all the girls hunkered down under there…had none of that…when you get them sunny days this time of year, you know, and the air’s still real clear, there’s no humidity yet, you know…the sun’s nice and warm on you…everybody’s out walking…girls leaving all of their winter clothes home…that’s when I like to take a walk in the park, see if any of my old friends are around, you know…yeah…see if anybody’s around that old bench I used to sit on…hey man, yo!...how you doing? alright (crowd cheers) good to see you…it’s nice out there, it’s nice out there, huh? what’s you been doing with yourself?...you know…been home?...you still do that cooking?...yeah…Clarence is a good cook (crowd cheers) what do you got going?...oh…baby pictures of the little Big Man (crowd cheers) three years old (?)…(chuckles) he’s got a little saxophone, he’s got a little suit…he’s got his own apartment already…(?)…he’s got shades…he looks good, you know… man, I remember we used to sit on this bench in 1975 (crowd cheers) there was this big office building down on the corner and 4.30 every day all the girls would come out and walk down this street…me and Clarence used to come down here, we had two cans of beer in a little paper bag…you had pastrami, I was baloney and cheese (chuckles) we’d play a little cards and we’d wait for the girls to get out of work…they used to get out right about this time…(?) here they come…oh yeah…check the one in a, in a, in a black top there…oh, here she comes…be cool…oh man, I remember I was with you the night you met your wife…Clarence meets his wife at this little party and the first thing he does is he runs into the bathroom, locks the door, and I know what he’s doing there, he carries all this stuff around with him like, uh, patchouli oil and all sorts of stuff that he puts on himself (chuckles) what’s it, what is it? (chuckles) don’t do that any more…so then he comes out, he gets near this nice-looking girl and I’m listening to him…and he’s bullshitting away like crazy (crowd cheers) he’s acting a whole lot nicer than he really is…he’s never been that nice, right (chuckles) (?) it worked, you know, you got that little guy now…you know how it is when that girl comes in that you’re interested in and she looks good…well, down in New Jersey (crowd cheers) it feels kind of like this…you guys ready?...let’s do it, Ritchie (the horn section starts harmonizing)…oh yeah…man, that was when we used to, like, we used to go down to that little bar down on the Shore, stay out till four am (crowd cheers) let’s do that tonight, you ready to stay out late?...you ready to stay out late? (crowd cheers)(?)…"
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “All That Heaven Will Allow”**

“How you doing out there, alright? (crowd cheers) how are you guys riding in the backseat there? (crowd cheers) those are scary seats…there was this fellow and this girl…they met in a little bar down along the coast on the weekend, a little shot-and-beer bar… he was a house painter and he was kind of on the young side…he was looking for some fun…he wasn’t saving any of his money, just making it and spending it…and, uh, she was a little older and she was, I guess, looking for some connection, looking for somebody to love her…and so they met in this little bar and they, they hit it off real well, there was a lot of things about him she liked, he was kind of sweet-tempered, kind of gentle and, you know, kept her laughing, telling stupid jokes all the time…then they moved into this little garage apartment about two blocks out off the beach in the wintertime…they had two rooms, a little porch, a small kitchen…and things were really, really nice…and she got pregnant, he saved his money for the first time and went downtown and bought her a ring …they planned to get married, she went out and picked out a dress, called her mama and her papa…then I guess something happened, he got scared, he was a little young…and he took off…he left but she never let him go…she kept him in her mind and she kept him in her heart, she kept his things…and when she got into bed at night, she saw his face…and the only problem was he wasn’t ever coming back…and the world took her memories…and it took her heart and broke it over and over again every day…because there comes a time you gotta take that past and you gotta put it away (crowd cheers) so this is a song about a woman, a woman struggling to understand the value of her own independent existence (women cheer) and the value of the life of her child…trying to put that past behind her that’s tying her down, put them old dreams where they belong and to find something new and beautiful and meaningful in her life now…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Spare Parts”**

“Alright, New York (crowd cheers) this is a song about, uh…hmmm, I guess window-shopping…you know how when you’re a kid, you’re down at the store and start looking at toys…somebody’s always saying “Don’t touch that thing”…”You’re gonna break that thing”… then you get a little older, you know…you start to discover yourself …there’s always somebody saying “Don’t touch that thing…you’re gonna break that thing, baby”…then you go out with your first girlfriend…and she’s always saying, uh…”Now, don’t touch that thing” (crowd cheers) “You’re gonna break that thing if you touch it like that”…and you’re kind of always saying “Please touch that thing, won’t you”…oh, always somebody telling me “You can look but you better not touch” (crowd cheers)…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “You Can Look”**

“Is there anybody alive and well in New York City tonight? (crowd cheers) is there anybody that can feel the living spirit if you’re from New Jersey tonight? (crowd cheers) that’s good because I’m down here tonight, I’ve got something to say…what I wanna know is…do we have any brave, tough, rough New York City men out there tonight? (crowd cheers) I ain’t talking about you college boys…do we have any macho New Jersey men out there tonight? (crowd cheers) oh yeah, so you’re so tough…but are you tough enough for this?...because I’ve known men that would swim rivers, climb mountains, wrestle with the beasts of the jungle but there was one thing that they was afraid of…you know what that one thing was?... it was the most important thing in life…what those big, brave men were afraid of, it was L-U-V – I’m talking about love…love scared them to death…am I talking about you?...am I telling your story?... now do we have any brave, courageous New York City women out there tonight? (crowd cheers) do we have any sweet and liberated, nasty, sexy New Jersey women out there tonight? (crowd cheers) let me hear you, girls, come on (crowd cheers) because I’m talking to you too, that’s right…I’ve known women that when they got next to love, when they came close to love…they ran home like little babies back to their mommies…because they were afraid of what was in their hearts and what was down in their souls…now I’m not here tonight pointing a finger…because I got a confession of my own I’ve got to make…and what I’ve got to say is I have sinned! (crowd cheers) that’s right, I ain’t ashamed…and I don’t need no Jimmy Swaggert, no Pat Robertson, no Jim Baker to forgive me… they can kiss my ass, baby…and that Jerry Falwell – that fucker can kiss my ass twice (crowd cheers) I wanna tell you about my sin…I ain’t afraid of man-made things, I ain’t afraid of earthly things but I wanna tell you about my sin right now and what I’ve got to confess to is…that’s right – I’m a coward when it comes to love…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “I’m a Coward”**

“Well, now, some folks believe that…we descend from, uh, Adam and Eve…Garden of Eden and, uh…well, other folks, they, uh (?)… the other folks, they believe, uh…let me tell you the story…you see, uh…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Part Man Part Monkey”**

“This is for all my old fans out there (crowd cheers)…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Backstreets”**

“Sometimes I feel…I get feeling so downhearted…and I can’t see that sunshine…all I see is rain…rain that hides these tears in my eyes…that’s when I know I want a partner…somebody to help me dance (crowd cheers)(?)…and I wanna say is “Hey, hey, hey, baby”… (…) How sweet it is! (crowd cheers)…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, middle of “Dancing in the Dark”**

“On the piano, Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) the one, the only…on the drums the Mighty, Mighty, Mighty Max Weinberg (crowd cheers) on the guitar and vocals, the lovely Miss Patti Scialfa (crowd cheers) on the guitar, the great wonder, Mr. Nils Lofgren (crowd cheers) on the bass, the man with the thunder from way down under, Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) and on the organ, the incredible, ever-changing, Phantom no longer, Dan Federici (crowd cheers) and back on the horns we got Eddie “King” Fisher, Richie “La Bamba - the sexiest man in New Jersey” Rosenberg, we got Mark “The Love Man,” we got Mario Cruz – the dangerous Horns of Love (crowd cheers) and last but not least (crowd cheers) ladies and gentlemen, an enigma…(?)…let me just say that without a doubt the greatest man in the history of Western civilization (crowd cheers) Clarence “Big Man” Clemons on the saxophone (crowd cheers)…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, middle of “Light of Day”**

“Oh, this is a song…I guess this song is like an old friend of mine by now…feels like it’s kind of grown up with me over the years…sang it, wrote it fifteen years ago when I was 24…and uh, I guess I’ve sung it about every night ever since…always surprises me how much I knew about the things I wanted when I was that young… ‘cause the questions that I asked myself in this song I’ve been chasing down the answers to ever since…and the good news is…I’m getting closer (crowd cheers) uh, when I wrote it, I guess I was writing about a guy and a girl who wanted to get in the car and run and keep on running and never come back (crowd cheers) that was a nice, a nice romantic idea, I loved it…and I guess I put myself in that car with them…and as I got older, I realised that if I didn’t figure someplace for all those people I put in all those cars to go, I wasn’t gonna have someplace for myself to go…and I realised that what they was really doing was they were out, you know, brave enough to go out into that world somewhere and try and search for a little real connection…and I guess that’s what I’ve been doing, that’s what I’m doing here tonight (crowd cheers) and the money’s good too (chuckles) but I think everybody’s out there searching for, for that moment when they look into somebody’s eyes and somebody looks back and they really see them…and, uh…I guess this song was about the search for home, which, as I grew older, I realised isn’t waiting out there anywhere for me but is waiting somewhere deep inside of me…and if I got the courage, if you’re brave enough and you got the guts and if you’re lucky, you may get a piece of it…maybe even be able to hold on to a little of it… and I guess in the end that home is just about being the best man and the best woman that you can be…so anyway…I’d like to do this for you tonight, this song has kept me real good company on my search, I hope it’s kept you good company on yours (crowd cheers) and, uh, I’d like to do it for you, wishing you all love, home and happiness (crowd cheers)…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Born to Run”**

“Is there anybody approaching middle age out there? (some cheers) this is for all you old suckers… (…) Is the band ready?...are the people in the back ready? (crowd cheers) are the people way back on the hill ready? (crowd cheers) is everybody ready? (crowd cheers)…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Glory Days”**

“Thanks (crowd cheers) it’s nice to be in New York, we haven’t played up here in a while (crowd cheers) this is, uh (?)…I’ll do this one for Katie (?) – you alright, Katie? (chuckles) this is a favorite song of mine…that I’d like to sing for you…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Cryin’”**

“Alright…is there anybody out there tonight (crowd cheers) that needs a little love, that needs a little affection, that needs a little personal attention? (crowd cheers) is that you, sweetie, (?) do you need a little personal attention? (crowd cheers) somebody give personal attention to the girl, I have a job to do, alright…’cause I’m here a man with mission tonight…all I want you to know is…we flew thousands and thousands of miles (?) across the country…and I’m here to give it to you because my motto is “Have love, will travel”…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Have Love, Will Travel”**

“There ain’t but one reason I’ve got this thing on (crowd cheers) that’s because I plan to continue with this evening’s services (crowd cheers) are you ready? (crowd cheers) are you ready? (crowd cheers) are you ready? (crowd cheers) then I got a question I wanna ask you…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Sweet Soul Music”**

“(?)(crowd cheers) come on, come on, we’ve been working our asses off all night (crowd cheers) come on, you ain’t got it, man, you ain’t gonna make it, you ain’t gonna make it (crowd cheers) it’s coming up on midnight, you ain’t gonna make it, no…are you talking to me? (crowd cheers) then you better talk a little bit louder than that, kid (crowd cheers) are you ready for a little religious liberation? (crowd cheers) are you ready for some spiritual affirmation? (crowd cheers) are you ready for some sexual consummation? (crowd cheers) then just raise your hand one time… (…) Before I go, there’s one last thing I’ve got to know (crowd cheers) is there something you need? (crowd cheers) is there something you want? (crowd cheers) is there something deep down in your heart that you’ve just got to have? (crowd cheers) then show a little guts and just raise your hand…”
 * 18.05.88 New York City, NY, intro to “Raise Your Hand”**

//Compiled by Johanna Pirttijärvi//